thursday is for happy people.

it is one happy day around here.

the weather is a whopping 56 degrees in logan. the sun is shining, i'm watching p.s. i love you for the second time this week, and i slept like a rock last night. {maybe i took a sleeping pill.} everything about thursday is pretty, wouldn't you agree?

i hope the following items of biz make you as happy as they made me!

i got some pictures in the mail from elder monson, who left for mexico on monday morning! i just know that he's adjusting like a champ. because he's carter, and he is really good at doing hard things like that.

want to see some pictures?
k!



the happy little district. and carter slash his pacman shirt on the right.

i got this picture in the mail separate from all of the others... with no letter, nothing. this picture. all by itself, in a lonely little envelope. nothing but a caption reading the word, "ew". so i guess this means he would hate me if i put it up on the interweb... lets just keep this between you and me, okay?

and then we also got this one.
our favorite little kaden.
also known as baby carter.
and if that face doesn't make you happy, you don't have a soul.

{have the happiest of all thursdays. with a week like this, i deserve a wonderful thursday. and you do too!}

bones and things of that nature.

participate in an archaeological dig.
...be considered an asset to an archaeological dig.
better.

ilikeyoualotandotherstuff.

this goes out to you, one day pal.

i'm reeeally good at cleaning. i pride myself in knowing that i am my mother's daughter when it comes to scrubbing, washing, and sudsing a kitchen counter. and also, i have a short temper, but you'd never know. it's a secret that i keep hidden very well; i keep it quiet. i just think it's only fair to tell you that i think some pretty sassy thoughts in my head whenever my temper elastic has snapped. speaking of sassy, i'm probably the definition. sorry in advance.

also...

not a fan of loud people, big crowds, or chips and salsa. but if you asked me to be, i'd try really hard. except the last one. that's a deal-breaker. my two favorite movies end with sad protagonists, and raspberry sherbet with gummy bears is a weakness of mine. i spend my free time on the basement floor of the library, reading artist biographies, studying art books that i won't be tested on. and one day, i plan on being a big time gardener.

love love love,
the stranger that's already yours.

you say you like caaandy...

since i'm super neat, and wayyy into posting videos lately... this girl's voice. kiiiind of my obsession right now. newborn cd... 4 days old. if your music taste is up to par... or even good at all... you're downloading it from itunes. yesterday. her lyrics glow of candor, and if i were spilling my honesty, {or my soul for that matter...} i would tell you that i think she might have written every thought i have ever had. {minus that stuff about the 7th grade. i kind of hate that part a lot.} and by the way, her voice is absolutely un-corrupted--if that's even a real word. listen and love, people. mind you, i said listen. that music video is laaaame to say the least.

laura j. is our girl. and we told her we'd be at every concert in the slc... big fans. and did i mention duel citizenship in the u.s., and the netherlands? because she has it. could she get cooler?

"all my parts are vital."

friday mornings are serious business around here,
and there are a few things that need to be addressed.

when you have the world's most sensitive stomach, and when you wake up with fake morning sickness that makes your insides want to resign from the rest of your body...

well. that's when you think you're pregnant.

but except, i'm obviously not.
but sometimes i think i am still...
i think when i really am prego, with reeeal morning sickness, i will welcome it with open arms, like a dear old friend.
my anxious stomach is making me tougher, that's for sure.

other than all of this bod talk...

i watched this yesterday.
and got my cry in for the week.
i always cry at the end of the ireland letter when he puts his head on her shoulder.
i lose it. serious.
they're my favorite movie couple. in case you ever need to know.
and sometimes i pretend that i'm holly kennedy, and that i live her life.
except just in the ireland parts...
because remember how i'm obsessed with that place?
and remember how this is lovely? and i'm obsessed with it too? and just them, period?
okay good. i'm glad we're all remembering.

also,

grey's anatomy last night? *spoiler alert... do not continue to read if it's still fresh on your tivo...

arizona robbins. could she be any bigger of a baby?!
it's all i could think about.
suck it up, pedes doc.
and just when things get better, and she's not being a little girl anymore... really you can't keep your eyes on the road?! what is that about?!
if that baby dies... and if callie dies... ohhh my gosh.
first o'malley's accident, then izzy got weird and left, and now callie-used-to-be-o'malley is all torn up...
this show can't afford to lose another one of its best characters. even though i'll watch it until it dies no matter what...

and also, i would like to say that i think avery and little grey are fabulous together... but it won't last. because lexie and sloan are just m.t.b. {meant to be. remember it.} ...he loves her wayyy too much.

lastly, how glad am i that someone can dish karev's crap right back to him? can you say, finally?!

...can't wait until next week.


{haaaappy weekend loyal followers!}

...p.s. i looooooove you!

don't you know.

first of all, listen to this song. it reminded me of this post. as it should.
...ignore the default pictures of nature. 1 out of 10 for originality... seriously.


this one goes out to all of you elder d. fans...

elder stewart, hatch {his companion}, d., and elder wienkler. great hats.

armless aust.

this is my sad attempt to blog it out in honor of the elder. or, as he commonly refers to himself, signing his emails... "elder a-town daw". what the, right?

i promised him back in july that i would keep a mission blog for him, but then i forgot... slash, a bunch of things happened. in short, lots of complications. so he's just going to have to deal with being a permanent topic of this b-log.

elder a-town fun facts:

-russia has been privileged to hang out with elder daw for just over a month now! twenty more to spend! {...that means 1/6th of the way through. my how time seems to fly when you convert it into a fraction. you can quote me on that... ;)}
-he isn't the biggest fan of tea, but is served it wherever he goes.
-buses are the way to ride... and he hates it.
-spring has reached vladivostok!
-his email titles make me laugh... "of trees and green things"...i don't know where he comes up with any of it, but i look forward to seeing the caption pop up in my inbox every sunday night.
-he is always a half a day ahead of us here in the states. it blows my mind... middle of the night on thursday, {2 a.m.} march the 24th where he is... and now your mind is blown.
-the russian is coming along just beautifully.
-he is in love with the people! :)

more to come in the near future.

as for elder monson...

carter disembarks at 3:30 in the a.m. on monday morning. {can you even call that morning?} this little missionary is quite ready to leave the m.t.c., he has made that clear. no pictures of carty cart...

except for this little gem. i couldn't resist putting it up.
this was a daybreak day. daybreak made the best summer nights.
and i am just itching for summer. hence, this picture.

he said mission pictures coming soon. and let me tell you... they'd better be. because i just sent a giant st. patrick's day package full of fruit snacks and jelly beans upon request. and if i don't get some of those promised pictures, he's in big trouble.

so there you go. the two best elders are being brave, and doing a fantastic job at serving the Lord. their letters are inspiring, comforting, and funny. my favorite boys are still everything wonderful, and i miss them like crazy.

{happy wednesday! friday coming soon...}

and i am genuinely sorry about that window...

take a lunch date with andy samberg.

sieze the day, broom hilda.

i need to be doing laundry right now.
...but i'm not.

aaaaand i'm itching to get back to logan!
seriously. i love that little town more than i could ever explain to you. and for reasons unknown.

also, i love vampire diaries. it is my newest obsession. and i bought the first season. and am watching it through for the second time as we speak. kenz, miss, and i catch ourselves playing a new game that we halfway made up. it's called, what if: vamp dies edition. it's where we say things like...

"would you rather have your legs nailed to a chair like harper, or be injected with vervain like stefan?"

and then it results in explanations, reasoning behind such choices. i fear that we have become trekkies. vampire style.

the salvatore brothers and i, well. we're kind of best friends now... and i hope that it progresses into a complicated love triangle one day. not to mention, i was jb obsessed again today. we're also best friends. too much pop culture for one day? never. {say never. taha...}

for the first time in a long time, i'm ready for monday. i'm going to the art museum for an introduction on historical preservation of art... and am too excited to sleep! can you say, nerd?

the worst part of my weekend?

this kid was no where to be seen.
m.i.a. from my weekend... which is absurdly abnormal.
this goes out to my good friend, doireann doane: i hope your pizza and laser tagging was fantastic. if i had to lose the battle to someone, i'm glad it was you. you're a worthy opponent.
but still... i missed you, mattie! next weekend?



{happy sabbath... and happy monday morning!}

just let me travel forever.

spend an afternoon on walden pond, reading thoreau.
ride the trans-siberian express across asia.
actually drive the autobahn.
see the holy land for myself.
visit every capital city in europe.
experience winter solstice at Newgrange, in ireland.
visit w.b. yeats' grave, and the little church that raised him.

i'm not done.

i have a crush on frank lloyd wright. in one too many ways. his architecture un-stitches me, and plus he was just so handsome.

...now i'm finished.

you should know that i like words. a lot.

forgetfulness

the name of the author is the first to go
followed obediently by the title, the plot,
the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel
which suddenly becomes one you have never read,
never even heard of,

as if, one by one, the memories you used to harbor
decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain,
to a little fishing village where there are no phones.

long ago you kissed the names of the nine muses goodbye
and watched the quadratic equation pack its bag,
and even now as you memorize the order of the planets,

something else is slipping away, a state flower perhaps,
the address of an uncle, the capital of paraguay.

whatever it is you are struggling to remember,
it is not poised on the tip of your tongue,
not even lurking in some obscure corner of your spleen.

it has floated away down a dark mythological river
whose name begins with an L as far as you can recall,
well on your own way to oblivion where you will join those
who have even forgotten how to swim and how to ride a bicycle.

no wonder you rise in the middle of the night
to look up the date of a famous battle in a book on war.
no wonder the moon in the window seems to have drifted
out of a love poem that you used to know by heart.

billy collins.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

bucket list:
-converse with the genius man that wrote this brilliant piece of art.

...so i love billy collins. let's just get that out in the open. i am most likely his biggest fan. the way his words flip off my brain with a secret meaning has taken over me; i have become a victim of this man! ...well, his writing... if you liked this, read this. it is my favorite poem, coincidentally by my favorite american poet.

and before you judge it, say that it's bland, i just want you to use your brain a little bit harder today, and dissect it. appreciate the integrity in his writing, and fall in love with his words the way that i have.

*hint:
...if you see a dog on a scale, you're not reading it right.

surreal, but nice.

i'll be here on may 16th.

got it yet? here's a clue.

"whoops-ie-daisies..."

...still don't have it?

...after all, i'm just a girl. standing in front of a boy. asking him to love her.
any bells ringing yet?

i just spent the last two hours reading over maps, brochures, and tube routes of london. and i went over and the itinerary multiple times. and of course i left plenty of time to spend in notting hill. i just love playing tour guide.

so come mid-may, i'll visit the blue door in my favorite bit of london... needless to say, i can't wait!

chinese food makes me sick.

to whom it may concern,
to that one person that thinks my germophobia is cute,
to you, h.t.b. ...

-i will not buy one single girly mag ever again, if you promise me that you will never wear black tennis shoes.
-i beg of you... don't become one of those body builder dads. you know the type. spandex tight shirts, socks that run half-way up the calf. i know you know them. the ones that refuse to eat cinnabons at the airport because they're concerned about the calorie count. just. please. don't put me through it. or our children for that matter...
-i don't mind cooking dinner every night. i also don't promise to be good at it.
-i want to be a minivan mom. if it's not too much to ask...
-i order lemon chicken at fancy restaurants. every time.
-zip up jackets with hoods are my weakness. i'll probably get you one every birthday. just a warning.
-what normal people call jeans, i call levis. i don't know why.

love,
that girl that thinks you're pretty cool.

i thought i'd see a c-leb.

two and a half days at disneyland and california adventure...
and now, i am just exhausted.

today was our third and final day in the land of disney, but we cut it short due to pounding headaches, heat stroke, and a realization that we had ridden every ride, looked in every shop, met every character, and eaten all of the ice cream, popcorn, and pineapple whip that our stomachs would fit. and we'd done all of it well over a thousand times.

earlier this week, amy, becca, and i toured hollywood and spent the lovliest day in laguna beach. we got pedicures, shopped at h&m, ate pink berry, payed $12 to see beastly, (i would not recommend it. to anyone. even at a regular price.) and strolled along the santa monica pier.

it has been a lovely week, and i'm enjoying spring breezy and the living easy. i never want to go back to school. not ever. but mostly because i just already feel like summer vacation is here... something i assume will go away come sunday night when i return to three feet of snow in little cache valley.

but i'm not thinking about that right now.

i'm choosing to focus my attention on the fact that i'm ditching l.a. for the day tomorrow and heading south to go to this place....

peace, ya'll.

open my eyes, i see sky.

maybe last night was the absolute best night of my life.

disclaimer: this is a long one. and it's all things joshua.

we arrived at in the venue around 4:30 to be happily surprised that we were the first ones in line! just me and little miss. taking the trek down to the slc, blasting j-rad's folksy music allll the while.

we parked conveniently across the street, and sat against that old wall, the one that we've sat against so many times before, and waited for two hours. crazy things happened... involving old homeless women with lime green fake fingernails, locked bus station doors, and scary gang bangers huddled outside of said bus station. let's just say i kept my distance from those peeps.

we made friends with the two girls behind us in line, even though one of them claimed to know everything there was to know about concerts. we were able to see past her obnoxiousness, and ditch our original plan of being friendless.

getting in was fast, easy, and pain free. thanks to missy. who is absurdly assertive. bless her. otherwise, we would have never gotten to stand front and center. i'm sorry. maybe you didn't understand me.
i was front and center at a joshua radin concert.

so now let's get to the goods.

laura jansen opened. and let me just say. her voice is one of angels. if heaven has a choir, she will be leading it. also. quite wonderful in person. just a sweet heart. her first album, bells, debuts on itunes march 22. and i think everyone should buy it.

...and then cary brothers was up. let's not talk about him. because he's not very good. even the second time you see him.


the big moment happened around eight.

joshua, joshua, joshua. you are just so lovely.
he came out of the curtains. in. suspenders.
i know.
not to mention the cardigan and the hat that he sported oh so classily.
he began strumming on his guitar, the room began to be silent, and he could have had me right there.
his pretty voice filled the room, and i was in a trance.
i just love him!
since we were... you know... DEAD CENTER, in the middle of his singing, he would look down at us.
why yes, he did look at me with his puppy dog eyes and hit me with that cutest smile ever, as he sang {to me. only me.} no envy, no fear. he also sang my song. which i would have cried had he not. plus, he has the longest eyelashes ever. it's fine.

long story short--i wore a scarlet expression on my face the entire night.

ohhh aaaand...
we had magic bracelets. that allowed us to become best friends with him.
as much as i'd like to tell you that he just thought we were pretty so he invited us backstage, i can't.
we bought t-shirts. bracelets included.
after the show, we waited in a little line with the other privileged few.
my legs were shaking.
i came up with a list of things in my head that i'd say to him.
...all of which i forgot about when he looked at me and motioned for me to come forward.
he shook my hand, asked my name, said it was nice to meet me, and signed my ticket.
then, he put his arm around me, we snapped a photo, and he asked me to come back to his next salt lake concert.

oh joshua. that. will not be a problem. i will be there.

needless to say, we are the newest celebrity couple. and also, i am in love.


in other news,
i'm on spring break as of today! and i'll be spending the week in sunny california, indulging in all of my guilty pleasures: hollywood, disneyland, sea world, and the beach. i'm kardashian bound ya'll... later suckas!

{happy early weekend!}

lisa lobe, glasses. i'd sure like to ask you to stay.

hi. this is my life tomorrow.
would you just look at him? darling.
he is just so gosh darn cute.
i think it's vital that you know that this song will be at my wedding.
and guess what. this one, too.
and that special guy in the featured picture is who i will be marrying that day.

ohhhh joshua. you are soooo handsome.
and your voice is the type to make me go all fluttery inside.

just the kind of information you needed to absorb for your wednesday, i'm sure.

i'm headed to salt lake, suckas!